Smithsonian Preserves Sabatino-Voorheis Work
By Dan Murphy
A 20-year effort for marriage equality from Yonkers City Council Majority Leader Michael Sabatino and partner Robert Voorheis was recognized by the Smithsonian Museum, which agreed to obtain the couple’s history of the marriage equality movement.
Sabatino explained that on a visit to the White House in 2013, President Barack Obama hosted an annual LGBT reception in Washington, D.C., with both Sabatino and Voorheis attending (with Obama saying to Voorheis, “rocking mustache”). A meeting was scheduled with the Smithsonian to review the archives.
“We saved buttons, T-shirts and articles – anything related to the marriage equality movement,” said Sabatino. “They accepted everything and gave us a tour of the archives and how it would be preserved and catalogued.”
This year, the Smithsonian created an exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, when on June 28, 1969, a routine police raid of a gay bar in New York City turned into a violent conflict that ignited protests lasting for days. The Stonewall Inn Uprising is celebrated by many as the birth of the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
The National Museum of American History will mark this 50th anniversary with a yearlong display, “Illegal to Be You: Gay History Beyond Stonewall,” featuring objects from its collections that put the history of that memorable event within the broader LGBTQ experience in the U.S.
Materials from the National Museum of American History’s LGBTQ collections date back to the 19th century.
Sabatino and Voorheis’ archives are featured in the exhibit, which opened in June.
The two were married in 2003 in Canada. The two joined Marriage Equality NY in 1999, with Voorheis becoming co-executive director. In 2006, Sabatino became a member of then-County Executive Andy Spano’s LGBT Advisory Board.
“We asked Andy to issue an executive prder recognizing marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions,” said Sabatino. “He did that in 2006.”
The executive order said that Westchester County would recognize out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples by government agencies
Three Westchester residents sued, in a case that became Godfrey vs. Spano. Sabatino and Voorheis became parties in the lawsuit. “They needed a couple that would be impacted by this suit and we joined,” Sabatino.
The case was upheld in three New York courts and the Court of Appeals. “Technically, our marriage was one of the first recognized by a court in New York,” said Sabatino. “But the debate in New York over marriage equality was not resolved until 2011; we didn’t win marriage equality by legislation until 2011.”
Sabatino and Voorheis were close with Edie Windsor, another historic figure in the marriage equality movement.
“We helped Edie get to Canada and get married,” said Sabatino. “The opposition to her marriage was that it was not legal because she got married in Canada. Her case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court and our case was referenced in Edie’s case and is in the record in the USSC.”
Sabatino has served on the Yonkers City Council for eight years. This year, he decided not to run for a third term.
“I wanted to reassess what I wanted to do,” he said. “I’m 69 years old and I didn’t want to commit to another four-year term. I also felt I had accomplished a great deal in my eight years. I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do, but I love my city and if there is a way I can continue to serve, I will.”
While Sabatino has made progress on LGBT issues in Yonkers, creating Yonkers Pride, the Mayor’s LGBT Advisory Board, and recognizing Pride History Month, he has also worked on bullying by bringing it to the public discussion long before it became popular to do.
But his biggest legacy on the City Council is simply that he served the people of the third district well and listened to everyone’s concerns. “I have heard thanks from many people for how I’ve acted and the work that I have done,” he said. “That is a huge compliment and I’m very proud of having served.”
Sabatino has served as only one of two openly gay elected officials in Westchester, and one of 700 in the country. “I am very proud to be one of a few openly gay elected officials in Westchester, but I never wanted to be the only one, or one of two,” he said. “I want more gay people to run for office.”
Sabatino also serves as vice president of the Hudson Valley Stonewall Democrats, an organization that helps and endorses candidates running for office.
“At this level of office, it’s not about gay issues, this is about doing the work of the city,” he said. “I don’t have a gay agenda. What I’m most pleased about is that once I got elected, people got to know that I was here to do the work of the city.”
We asked Sabatino about the recent number of hate crimes, and hate symbols found in Westchester.
“I’m always concerned about that,” he said. “It’s very disturbing to see the things that you fought (against) across many years, but we still can’t educate some people. It’s better in New York than in some of the southern states. And we haven’t seen that type of hate speech in Yonkers, because we are so diverse and respect each other.”
And while the number of openly LGBTQ officials rose by nearly 25 percent since 2018, that has not occurred in Westchester – of no fault to either Sabatino and Voorheis, who continue their work, marching with Gov. Andrew Cuomo this summer in the Pride Parade in New York City, and monitoring the status of three USSC cases dealing with LGBT rights. One of these cases will determine if you can fire an employee because he or she is gay.
“In 25 states it is still legal to fire someone because they are gay,” said Sabatino. “We have made progress but we still have work to educate people on.”
In this marriage, Sabatino serves as the public face of the couple, but many who know the couple understand it is Voorheis who provides much of the behind-the-scenes preparation and organization that makes their combined effort for marriage equality work. This summer, Voorheis hosted a discussion at the Hudson River Museum titled “LGBTQ+stories: March On!”
Now, both Voorheis and Sabatino will be a part of history, and their work will forever a part of the Smithsonian’s archives in Washington. “I’m very proud that we are a part of American history and to be amongst those who are archived in the American History Museum,” said xxxxx.
On Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room, the city will hold a reception to commemorate LGBTQ history.
Congratulations to Councilman Sabatino and Robert Voorheis, and thank you for your service.
